Electrically-operated crane, hoist, and the like



June 2, 925; 1 1,540,655

W. H. SCOTT ET AL RLBCTRICALLY OPERATED (II KANE, HOIST, AND THE LIKE Filed May 4., 192] 2 Sheets-Shoot l June 2; 1925. 5 1,540,655

W. H. SCOTT ET AL BLECTRICALLY OPERATED CRANE, H0151, AND THE LIKE Filed May 4, 1921 2 Sheets-Shut 2 40 motor is turned by the load the motor nectedwiththearmatureo Patented June 2, 1925. J

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'WILLILI EAR-DING SCOTT AND JOHN BENTLEY, OF NORWICH, ENGLAND, ASSIGNO'BS 'ro LAURENCE SCOTT COMPANY LIIITED, OI NORWICH, ENGLAND.

WCALLY-OPERATED CRANE, HOIST, AND ran-m Application fled Kay 4, 1921. Seriallo. 466,886.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM HARDING Sco'rr and J OHN BENTLEY, both subjects of the King of Great Britain,'residing at Gothic 6 Works, -Norwich, in the county of Norfolk, England, and 13 Beatrice Road, Norwich, in the county of Norfolk, England, respectively, have invented new and useful Improvements in or Connected with Electri- 10 .cally-O erated Cranes, Hoists, and the like, of which the following is a s ification.

- Our invention relates to e ectrically E- erated cranes, hoists, and the like, of te type in which the brakin is effected rheostatically, that is in whic the connections with the 'motor are such that, in lowering, it acts as a' dynamo short-circuited across itslzllf throu h 1more, or less, resistla gge acd co ingto t e owering'speed requ' an gives control of the when the load is.

ample and sufiicient tooveroome the friction of the gearing and drive the motor as a generator; but when the load is'not suflicient to overcome thefriction it is necessary to connect the mains, or: source of electric powerto start lowering, and. this arrangement is liable, under certain conditions, .to

causeinjury by the of excessive current, for instance, w on t e rheostatic' brak- 30 circuit is closed when the motor has been.

al owed to attaina high speed on the power circuit.

The principal object of our invention is to provide means by which this objection is obviated.

Inthearrangementacco toourinvention the series windi 'an the armature are connected up wit the startin resistance so that, when the armature o the erates current through itself as in the a ore-- said sent, ut we provide means whereby, w 5- this closed circuit is made, the mam, or source of electric power, is conthro h parate uxilia the I I 'ug a se or a resistance -which allows .a redetermin'e? maximum current to flow. current is divided be tween the armature and the-series l0 and will start the motor, under all conditions;for' inacraneitwillstart the low of a hook whose t.

. 5 may not be suficient to use me the friction of the gear, heavier Man to be 'for example when lowering a heavy of the said lowered, it will assist ma until the speed has increased to such an extent as to generate current in the closed circuit, the

speed being under control by varying the resistance in the closed circuit. In this arrangement, the line voltage (that is the power circuit) is alwa 's on during the lowering, and therefore t e voltage generated can. never increase much above the line voltage and the speed on the power circuit cannot become excessive and consequently the danger of break-down from excess current is obviated.

We also include separate, or auxiliary,

series-winding on the motor, in series with the aforesaid segarate, or auxiliary, resistance and make e connections so as to excite the magnets for the lowering direction of rotation, the said series-winding increasing the torque with any given current from the main, or source of electric power.

' According to a modification the circuit which carries the rheostatic braking current is put under the control of a load-discriminator, or an apparatus like, or equivalent to, a load-discriminator, which is inserted in the said circuit and disconnects the supply of current from the main, or current-suppl circuit, when such current is not requliredd,

The saidload-discriminator, or equivalent device, is preferabl constructed and arranged as descri in the ification of United States Letters Patent 0. 1,899,- 664, December 6, 1920, ted to us. and x wewill presume that t t load-discrimi 'nator is employed; the main 0 rat coil cad-discriminator aving owever a tapping from, or connection with,

the main, whilst the whole of'the coil'is in the rheostatic' braking circuit into which, when closed, the motor (then wor as a generator) supplies current when the ood is suflicient to dnvethe motor as adynamo, the

load-discriminator 0 re 'ts contacts, the contactor, or controls the current from the main,

4 We will describe, with refermce to the accompanying which this invention can begle ows,

Figure 1 sh agnmms' locally the connections made for %1116 Fights 8 shows, diagrammatically'ff connections forlowerlng. I

' spectively shewing the switches in position In Figures 1 and 2 the conductors through which the current is supposed to be passing,

are indicated in thick lines, whilst the conductors through which the current is supposed not to be passing are indicated in thin .lines.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, re-

for hoisting, and for lowering, the connections controlled by the switch A are, or may be, the ordinary, or any suitable, connections for a series-wound motor, the additional connections at b and a, respectively controlled by the switches B and C, being provided in accordance with our invention, the said switches B and C, being closed, as shewn in Fi re 2, for lowering the load, the switch being then open. Current from the main then passes through the switch C, conductor 0, and auxiliary resistance 0 and then divides, part of it going through the armature D, direct to the main E, and the other part going through the ordinary series-windin G, (and any of the starting resistance H'w ich may not be short-circuited) to the main through the switch B, and rheostatic braking shunt b. The 'current in the serieswinding G now passes in a direction for producing, in the armature D, the lowering direction of motion (that is motion in a d.- rection the reverse of thatin which it passes when the switches A, B, and C, are 1n the sitions shewn in Figure 1) the s eed bemg controlled by varying the sta ing resistance H, through the switches 71, which. as they are closed, successively short-circuit portions of such resistance. On starting the lowering motion the current will divide itself between the armature D, and the serieswinding, with the resistance H, portion of it as may be left inthe circuit) forming a shunt-winding of more, or less, resistance, which, in the event of the armature D being generating, absorbs the electricity generated in the said armature and puts a rheostatic brake thereon, the current in the main series-winding being then in the ri ht direction for generating and the speed ing controlled by the amount of the resistance H, which is included in the circuit.

The aforesaid separate, or auxiliary,

I series-winding, marked I, increases the magnetic flux, and consequently the starting (or such power, thus enabling the motor to start running with a small current fromthe main when the switch C is closed.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4: As in the preceding Figures; A is the switch which controls the connections forthe motor for the lifting direction; D is the armature of the said motor and G re resents its serieswinding. As in the herelnbefore described constructions the contactors, or switches, B and C, control additional connections, or circuits, at b and a; 0 being the resistance in the connection, or circuit, 0. The main circuit is marked +E and E, the starting resistance H, its switches h to k", and the separate, or auxiliary,-series-winding I. In

accordance with this modification, the load discriminator J is in the rheostatic braking circuit, b. Its operating coil, 7', as shewn in Figure 3, has, at, or towards, its middle, a tapping from, or connection with,

the main, at +E whilst the whole of the coil is in the closed rheostatic braking circuit b into which the motor, acting as a generator, supplies current when the load is sufficient to drive the motor as a dynamo, and the armature 7" of the load-discriminator makes the contacts at 7" and through the circuit '0 short circuits the o crating coil C of-the switch C, by whic the power supply from the main is connected for lowering and this opens the said switch.

The effect of this arrangement is that when, in lowering, there is suflicient weight on the crane, or analogous apparatus, to

cause the said generating effect, the loaddiscriminator J (as the generated current passes through the whole of the coil 7' in one direction) short circuits the switch-operating coil C, and the switch C, is opened and the main circuit +E, E, is cut off, but when the load which is being lowered is not sufficient to drive the motor as a generator, there is not suflicient current in the coil 7' of the load-discriminator J, to make it operative and the power supply from the main is not cut off at C, and the armature D, can be driven thereby in the lowering direction, current from the main, owing to the mid-connection with the coil as shewn in the arrangement Figure 3, dividing itself between the motor winding G, and the rheostatic braking circuit 1), and consequently going in opposite directions in "the portions of the coil 9' on either side of when the adjustment of the load-discriminator is such that it will not operate unless the current from the main be supplemented by generated current from-the motor.

trolling device; for example, y moving the arm of the master controller K, so that it comes onto the contact at Z, to disconnect the rheostatic braking circuit 1; by shortcircuiting the coil B which controls the switch B, so that the motor can, when desired, be driven at a high speed for lowering, by current from the main.

In working the crane, hoist, or the like, in accordance with this modification it will be understood that the contacts of the master controller from is to 70 (in connection with which are indicated the usual switch-operating coils of the resistance H) are those used in lowerin the contacts from 70 to la? being those used in hoisting. The operation in hoisting is, or may be, the same as usual, the switch, A, being closed and the other switches being worked in the usual way and the motor running as a simple series-wound machine. In lowering however, (presuming, for example that a heavy load is to be lowered), with the master controller arm, as shown in the diagram, on the contact for the first step of lowerin the switch contactor-coils B and C wi 1, at first, both be operative, the coil 0, closing the switch C which puts in current from the main to start the lowering and the coil B closing the switch B, which completes the rheostatio braking circuit 6 through the coil of the load discriminator J. however shewn open in the diagram because, when lowering a heavy load, after the first start down, sufiicient current passes through the switch, B, and to the coil 7', to operate the load discriminator J, and b short-circuiting the coil C causes the switc C, to open asshewn so that currentfrom the main is cut off andthe lowering speed is controlled throu h the rheostatic braking circuit, but should, in any case, the load be insufiicient for generating current from the motor to open the switch C, and lower, at the requisite speed, the said switch, C, will close and the operator can, as hereinbefore explained, manipulate the master controller to obtain current from the main for lowering at the required speed. I

In the aforesaid arrangements of connections, according to the several modifications illustrated, no reversing switch, such as is The switc G, is

usually employed, is necessary, as the reversing is efi'ected by opening the switch A, and closing the switches B and C;

What we claim is;-

1. In electrically operated hoisting apparatus, of the type described, a serieswound motor, a starting resistance, connections whereby the motor acts as a generator when the armature is driven by the load, an auxiliary resistance andin series therewith an auxiliary field winding for the motor, means operative, when the motor acts as a generator, for leading current from the source of power through the series field winding and'the armature in parallel, and thence in series through the auxiliary field winding and the auxiliary resistance,the electrical connection being such that the motor magnets are excited for the lowering direction when the motor is rotated in the lowering direction, the said auxiliary winding serving to increase the torque when current is supplied through the auxiliary resistance and auxiliary winding from the source of electric power;

2. The combination with the construction specified'in claim 1, of a rheostatic braking circuit, and independent switches controlling respectively the motor circuit, the auxiliary resistance and the rheostatic braking circuit, whereb on opening the motor circuit switch and clbsing the other switches, the motor may be reversed.

3. The combination with the construction specified in claim 1, of a rheostatic braking circuit, a load-discriminator arran ed therein, and means associated therewith auto-.

matically controlling the sup 1 of electric current to the auxiliary win ing of the inottior in accordance with the demand of the 4. The combination with the construction specified in claim 1, of a master controller, a rheostatic braking circuit, a load discriminator, a switch operated by the latter, and associated connections by which, under predetermined conditions, the rheostatic raking circuit may be disconnected by operation of the master controller to obtain a high lowering speed by direct connection of the motor to the source of power.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribin witnesses.

WILLI HARDING SCOTT. 4 JOHN'BENTLEY. Witnesses:

P. A. Tnonnnss, RICHARD Homms. 

